HOUSE MEMORIAL 6

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Ambrose Castellano

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING FEBRUARY 11, 2021 "NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY DAY" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

 

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university has been an important educational, cultural, social and economic asset in New Mexico, particularly northern New Mexico, since 1893; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university serves more than three thousand students each year and has more than five hundred employees at the school's main campus and centers; and

     WHEREAS, the vision of New Mexico highlands university is to be a premier university, transforming lives and communities now and for generations to come; and

     WHEREAS, the core values of New Mexico highlands university are excellence, diversity, accessibility and responsiveness; and

     WHEREAS, the priorities of New Mexico highlands university are academic excellence, academic integration and student success; strategic enrollment management; vibrant campus and university life; community partnerships; technological advancement and innovation; and enhanced communication and efficiency across the university; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university effectively serves students across the state and beyond its borders, online and on its campuses and centers in Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Farmington, Rio Rancho and Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university educates many first-generation college students, transforming their lives and the lives of their families and future generations; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university has many active alumni, representing every state, many countries and nineteen tribes and pueblos, and seeks to effectively reach out to all alumni through the establishment of a vibrant alumni association board of directors; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university had an unprecedented grant year with over ten million dollars ($10,000,000) awarded, hired three new deans and increased student retention during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and the New Mexico highlands university emergency operations team effectively handled emergencies such as a cyberattack and issues related to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university received a New Mexico governor's emergency education relief fund grant of six hundred sixty thousand dollars ($660,000) to support teachers and parents with online instruction and developed two new distance master of arts degree programs, cultural resource management and criminology; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university partnered with John Wiley and sons, inc. to market and recruit online degree programs, developed a certificate in emerging business markets entrepreneurship: industrial hemp and created a concentration in the masters in education leadership in mathematics teacher leadership; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university received a grant of nine hundred seventy thousand dollars ($970,000) from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation to support the development of a network of community memory laboratories serving the Indo-Hispanic population in rural New Mexico and Colorado and a three-million-dollar ($3,000,000), five-year grant from the United States department of education for the recruitment and retention of Hispanic and low-income students; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university hired a director of the Native American social work studies institute; and

     WHEREAS, seven New Mexico highlands university athletes earned a cumulative three-point grade average or higher, ninety-two athletes earned a cumulative three and five-tenths point grade average or higher, fourteen athletes were recognized as all-Rocky Mountain athletic conference performers and fifty-five athletes were recognized as Rocky Mountain athletic conference scholars; and

     WHEREAS, Jonathon Trujillo was named an all-American wrestler, and many dedicated student athletes completed significant hours of community service; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university also established the center for professional development and career readiness, partnered with El Centro family health to increase access to health care through telehealth services, provided coronavirus disease 2019 testing for all students and provided students with new initiatives, such as a campus-wide digital sign system and enhanced fitness and game room equipment; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution, with more than fifty percent enrolled Hispanic students, and strives to be a Native-American-serving institution, with nearly nine percent enrolled Native American students; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highlands university welcomes students from northern New Mexico, all of New Mexico, the United States and the world;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 11, 2021 be declared "New Mexico Highlands University Day" in the house of representatives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that New Mexico highlands university be commended for its service and dedication to the residents of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the president of New Mexico highlands university.

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